1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of overshoes which can be put on easily over conventional shoes, and including a molded plastic material having accordion-type pleats and a flexible instep area which permit the wearer to insert the shoe completely into the overshoe without difficulty.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The design of overshoes for wearing during inclement weather has always been met with difficult problems. The overshoe must fit tight enough so that it conforms to the shoe but at the same time it cannot be so tightly fitting that it is difficult to put on. This is particularly true in the case of elderly or infirm people who find it difficult to pull an overshoe over existing shoes when such action requires severe bending of the torso and strong pulling of the overshoe against the friction provided at the sliding surfaces between the overshoe and the regular shoe.
There have been some patent disclosures dealing with flexible overshoes, particularly in the field of disposable overshoes. For example, Hardman U.S. Pat. No. ,652,637 described an overshoe which was adapted to be rolled up and carried in the purse or pocket and consisted of an integral thin structure of flexible homogeneous plastic having a foot portion and an ankle portion. The foot portion was provided with a flat sole, a relatively short toe, and a heel portion. The sole, heel and toe portions were designed to be of increased thickness.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,422 issued to Nygard, there is described a construction for disposable overshoes composed of sheet material which when unfolded loosely fit around the regular shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,954 to Larsen et al describes a disposable overshoe of a heat shrink film which is storable in a flat condition, being generally symmetrical about its major axis.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,723 to Kanor there was described another disposable overshoe employing a single flat sheet of flexible heat shrinkable material which was center-folded to form a pair of complementary halves having a straight bottom edge adjacent the centerfold and a top edge. The mating edges were heat sealed together at the back edge, at the front edge, and adjacent the bottom edge.